Great explorations children's museum will implement an outreach program in the midtown neighborhood of south ST

The Great Explorations Children's Museum will implement an outreach program in the Midtown neighborhood of St. Petersburg, Florida, to teach gardening and food sustainability skills to middle school-aged youth. Funded by a $121,442 National Leadership Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the project will address food insecurity in an urban food desert through STEAM-based learning methods. Younger students will be mentored by their high school-aged peers to plant and maintain a community garden, with the aim of sustaining their own food source post-pandemic. Graduates will receive starter garden kits to continue growing with their families. The garden area is intended to remain open after the project's completion in October 2022 as an ongoing community resource.

Petersburg, florida, to teach middle-school-aged youth how to plant a garden. Midtown is an urban food desert with no grocery store in a three-mile radius that has fresh produce available. The museum will incorporate steam methods of learning, teach smart (specific, measurable, agreed-upon, realistic, timely) goal setting, and provide high-school-aged mentors to guide younger students throughout the program. Graduates of the program will receive a starter garden kit to take home and grow with their family and track its progress. The garden area will remain open at the end of the project as a community garden for the midtown neighborhood. The project will help with recovery from the pandemic by addressing the area's food insecurity by teaching students how to sustain their own food source.